The Spirit of IND
by Gabriela
Summary: Miranda travels back to her Alma Mater with Declan, who keeps busy investigating the supernatural events in the150 year old school.
1. Default Chapter

Declan reached for his glasses. He had been sleeping for what seemed like only a few minutes. As he put his glasses on, he noticed her. Had she been there the whole time?  
"Hey," he said, still half-asleep. "How long have you been here?" He ripped the blanket off him and threw it on the ground.  
"Not long," she lied. Miranda had been there for almost an hour. Declan looked so cute when he slept, she did not want to wake him, so she waited.  
"What's up?" He said, as he sat up.  
"I have to go to Baltimore. I was just wondering if I could get the make-up work a little early?" As she talked, Miranda fiddled with her high school ring, trying not to look in Declan's eyes.  
"Why are you going to Baltimore?" Miranda knew he would ignore the second sentence.   
"It's my alma mater's anniversary. They are gathering all of the alumnae for this...um.... ceremony thing,"  
Declan found a potato chip bag conveniently on the coffee table, and popped one in his mouth. He was about to ask her how long she would be gone, when he realized what she said. "What anniversary is it?"  
"150th...."  
He nearly choked on his potato chip, but was able to swallow it. "One hundred fifty.... wow. That's amazing,"  
Miranda smiled as she realized what would make Declan go on the trip for her. "They say there are ghosts there, haunting the statutes of Mary and the convent,"  
"Really?!" he paused thinking of a way to go, but he could not.  
  
Miranda found herself outside an airplane terminal to Baltimore. She sat there thinking, waiting for the plane to board. I'm going back to high school, she thought, I remember the classes...Latin in senior year, Shakespeare with Mrs. Buck, and who could forget Physics with Ms. Kelly? After all, she was the one who inspired me to go into science. Winning the IND/Mercy game senior year by only one free throw. Skipping lunch to hang out in Mr. Antal's library. Sharing an after school snack with her best friend Anna Georg. How long has it been? Eight years...it seems so long ago -  
Miranda snapped out of thought as she heard her name being called by a familiar voice. She glanced to the hallway, and saw a man running towards her, carrying a suitcase, with clothes hanging out and wearing a sloppy wardrobe. "Miranda! Hey!" he called. Suddenly, she recognized him - it was Declan. He walked to the terminal.   
"What are you doing here, Declan?" Miranda said, rather bluntly. She was under the impression that he was uninterested in actually going.  
"What? And miss up the chance to find some ghosts? Never...." He said as he threw his suitcase onto one of the chairs next to her.   
She smiled. She was finally having an escort to the prom that she never went to.  
*~*  
"This is it," Miranda said as they pulled up to the entrance on Aisquith Street. "We got here early so I can show you around," She parked their rented car, and walked up to the entrance.   
The front door accosted you with a Latin slogan: Pro Deo Et Patria. The front door was bedecked heavily with black iron in linear designs. Declan stood in awe as Miranda buzzed in on the intercom. "Sister Hildie, we're here,"  
Declan was still standing in awe as a short nun came to the door and opened it. "Well, come in, hon. Come in, come in," she said with a friendly voice and a big smile. Declan followed Miranda into the building.   
  
  



	2. The Parlor

Chapter Two  
  
It was so hard for Declan to imagine Miranda going to this school. It was smack dab in the middle of the city in Baltimore, in the ghetto. He always imagined Miranda going to this high school in the middle of nowhere.  
  
In the lobby, Declan noticed just how antique the school was. Everyone was almost just as it had been. The stucco ceilings were adorned with typical nineteenth-century decoration. In view of the lobby was a black slate staircase.  
  
"So, I hear you're a ghost-investigator," said the nun, startling Declan.  
  
He laughed. "Yeah, I guess you could say that,"  
  
"Just walk around. There are so many spirits here. I'm sure you'll feel it," she said as she walked back to the little office by the door.  
  
Miranda turned to look at Declan with a smile. "So, where should we go first?"  
  
Declan pointed towards the slate staircase and moved his arms, letting Miranda go first. The steps were long and narrow. The first floor they arrived to had one door leading to classrooms and two large doors en route to the next floor. The doors were huge and made of a dark wood. "That's the parlor. Hardly anyone ever goes in there. Even I haven't been in there," said Miranda.  
  
Declan opened the doors. There sat a long table and a small booth, like a confessional. There were two more doors, one to the left and one right ahead. Miranda went on to explain that the school used to be connected with a Catholic church right next door. In the 1980s, however, the church moved.  
  
The room to the left was almost empty, except for some very antique furniture. Declan and Miranda were about to bypass it, going to another room. But Miranda saw a small display case. In there was many artifacts from IND's early days - a yearbook, some pictures and drawing of the school. Seeing those girls in the jumper uniforms sitting in classrooms gave Miranda an eerie feeling. She stared at the pictures confusedly but had to look away.  
  
Declan kept on going, not paying attention to Miranda's affixation to the picture. He began to think that it was pointless to come here. The nun was wrong; he hadn't felt anything eerie about this school. The only thing that made it unique was that it was old.  
  
Through the other door, there was a large hallway leading to all the doors in the parlor. The hallways stunned Declan. Compared to the rest of the school he had seen so far, this was the most elaborate. The ceiling was decorated with paintings of the Virgin Mary and the Stations of the Cross. There were two more rooms to explore.  
  
He walked into the nearest one. Suddenly, he was overcome with this completely supernatural feeling. There was something about this room. Something strange. He couldn't explain it.  
  
Miranda finally joined him. She knew that he felt something. He always had a certain look when he felt something supernatural.  
  
She looked around the room. Maybe there was some reason for all this. The only thing she saw was historic furniture that seemed to have never been used since the founding of the school.  
  
Then she turned around. "Oh my god, Declan, look at this." 


	3. The Girl in the Blue Dress

Declan, surprised at Miranda's outburst, turned around.  
  
There on the wall was a giant painting. Now this itself wouldn't be irregular. Paintings in the nineteenth century were usually huge and used to decorate rooms. But it was what the painting was of that made it so spooky. The painting showed a girl in a dress that had presumably drowned; her dead body was laid up against the shore. The ocean and the shore were painted in such dark colors but her dress was a light blue that stuck out.  
  
"Miranda, tell me something. Why would a painting like this be in a Catholic school?" "I have absolutely no idea," Miranda replied.  
  
They looked all around the parlor looking for clues as to why the painting was there. After all, if it was just for show, why would the school buy a painting of a drowned girl? They found no clues at all.  
  
They decided to look around the school for other clues they might find about this painting. Declan had felt something in that room. If that painting was of a real girl, perhaps her spirit still lingered there. Of course, this clue-searching would take a while as the school had a total of six floors including the basement.  
  
As Miranda and Declan were walking around the second floor dodging classrooms and looking at statues, they met up with Sister Hildie again. She walking up another staircase (there were three total staircases in the school) when Declan stopped her.  
  
"Sister, I was wondering if you could answer a question for me," Sister Hildie looked back at him and said "Sure, hon." "What's up with the painting on the wall in the parlor? The one of that girl?" "I really don't know, hon," she said, although it was evident to Declan by her face that she did indeed know something. With that, Sister Hildie kept on walking.  
  
"I think that nun knows something," "Declan! It's Sister Hildie. I've known her since high school. Why would she lie!?" Miranda said surprised that Declan would accuse a little old nun of lying. "I don't know,"  
  
Just then, Miranda had an idea that might save them both a lot of time. "You know what, Declan, I think it might be better that we just split up. I should have thought of that in the first place. This school is huge. There are so many things to look at,"  
  
Declan agreed and he stayed on the second floor as Miranda went up to the third.  
  
So, Declan went on exploring the second floor. He realized that all the classrooms were divided by departments: math in one section, foreign language in another. Most of the classrooms looked the same; twenty- something desks, a teacher's desk and podium, and a crucifix on the wall. Two of the foreign language teachers apparently had decided to be creative. In the Spanish classroom, there was a mural on the wall, a decorated podium and Our Lady of Guadalupe hanging above the crucifix. In the French classroom, things collected from France were displayed throughout the room: a French toy, a French bag of popcorn, etc. While he felt those other classrooms were dull and boring, these truly had life in them.  
  
He continued walking and passed the parlor once again. Down this rather empty hallway, Declan saw various large statues of three saints put into holes in the wall. Things aren't always as they look, Declan realized. While to a regular student, this hallway was probably boring, there was actually a lot to see. There was a rather old plaque drilled into the wall. It was dedicated to Sister Mary Clarissa, who was directress of the school for many years until her death in 1921. Above it was an antique cuckoo- clock. It was amazing how everything was preserved and the building was still being used. And while it was interesting, unless Sister Mary Clarissa was the drowned girl in the painting, Declan didn't see that it was relevant. 


	4. Heritage Room

Declan heard someone - sounded like whoever it was was running. He looked at his left. No one there. He looked to his right. BAM! Miranda fell right into him and almost knocked him down.  
  
"Hey! Look where you're going next time you use those fast legs!" he said lightheartedly.  
  
Between shortened breaths from running, Miranda was able to say "Sorry. I found something, Declan..up on the fifth floor,"  
  
"I thought we were going to alternate floors," "Well, I had never been up to the fifth floor so I was curious," Miranda said with an inquisitive look.  
  
They walked up the spiral slate staircase again, passing a gigantic painting of the foundress and another of a seal with a Latin slogan. Finally after much walking they reached the fifth floor where the staircase ended. No wonder Miranda was out of breath! It was bad enough walking, much less running!  
  
On the fifth floor were a row of lockers - broken or unneeded lockers, Miranda explained - and corridors leading to different rooms. Miranda walked rapidly to room 56 (at least that's what it said on the door). She pulled out keys from her hand and unlocked the door. "Sister Hildie said we had the right to look at everything we wanted up here,"  
  
They walked inside. The ceiling was slanted because they were at the very top of the building. Inside, there were two filing cabinets, a desk, and a closet. "Okay, what was it that you wanted to show me, Miranda?"  
  
Miranda pulled one of the drawers to the filing cabinet open. There was a line of papers that were stuffed in the drawer. "Oohh.papers," Declan said inquiringly, grabbing for one. "The school paper to be exact. Don't forget where you got that," Declan seemed to be engrossed in it. "They're all organized by year," Allowing Declan in charge of looking at school newspapers, Miranda ventured to the other side of the room to look and see what was in the closet.  
  
The door to the closet was lined with dust. Miranda coughed as she opened the door. In there were boxes and various other random things. She heard Declan laughing. She turned around "What are you laughing at?"  
  
"You!" he said continuing laughing. He held the paper out so Miranda could see. The school paper was from 1994. And there Miranda was, pictured with the rest of the Science Club. There was an article attached to their photo. Miranda grew red with embarrassment.  
  
"You have the only gloomy face in the bunch! No, no, it's not gloomy, it's more like extremely pissed off!" Declan said. He was still giggling.  
  
Miranda gave him a look that shut Declan up. "I was having a bad day. Besides why are you looking at papers from 1994 when we should be looking at older school papers?"  
  
"No reason," Declan lied. Truthfully, he wanted to see what Miranda was like during high school. He shoved the drawer closed and opened another filled with older papers.  
  
"So what's in the closet?" he said, changing the subject.  
  
"A lot of random memoirs. Old uniforms, medals, scrapbooks, that sort of stuff," Miranda replied, still rummaging through the stuff.  
  
Declan, forgetting the newspapers, appeared right behind her. "Hey, what's this?" he said as he pulled out a small long black book that had the word "Autographs" written on it in calligraphy. 


	5. A Ghost?

He picked the book up and started flipping the pages. "Just autographs, nothing important," he said and put the book back in its place. "Miranda, I'm starting to think that there's nothing here - I mean, we've seen no ghosts or any other strange stuff. The only thing we've seen is a painting,"  
  
Miranda had no reply and picked up the long black book again. She felt like Declan was missing something. She flipped through the pages again. Each yearbook-style autograph was signed in an eloquent calligraphy. She noticed one girl dated her page "March 24, 1897".  
  
"Declan, something's up here. It's dated March 24, 1897. That's not at the end of the year, not even at the end of the semester," Miranda said, still reading the autographs.  
  
"I can't believe they even have stuff that old up here. This is a historian's dream," Declan said grinning. The history of the book was intriguing to him. He went back to the filing cabinet with the school newspapers and looked around some more. Miranda continued to read as Declan looked through the school newspapers.  
  
He was disappointed to find out that the newspapers started in 1940, not any earlier. He grabbed an edition hoping for some interesting tidbits.  
  
"Declan..this girl died,"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"At the end of the book. it says "Elizabeth Anne Goffenberger. Rest in Peace. 1882 - 1897"  
  
Just then, the door slammed shut with a loud bang. Probably the wind, Miranda thought.  
  
"Miranda, I think that was her,"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The girl. I think she just slammed the door,"  
  
"Declan, don't jump to conclusions,"  
  
"I mean it! The windows are closed in this room. There aren't any other windows around here. Plus it slammed just as you read the death date. I think we just found ourselves a lead,"  
  
Miranda put the autograph book down and looked around for other remnants around that time. Declan started reading that 1940 edition he picked up before he was interrupted by the door slamming.  
  
There on the second page read: The Institute of Notre Dame, our own home, is reaching its anniversary of hundred years of service in just seven years. It's nearing the holiday of  
Halloween, where children are treated to candy and everyone dresses creatively. The Institute is home to many ghost stories and scary tales of the like. None of these should be taking too seriously so don't be scared stiff out of the school just yet. Perhaps the most popular ghost story here is about a young girl wandering the halls day and night. Many students will say they've seen her in between classes traveling to their next class. She doesn't dress in everyday uniform: rather, a rather outdated long jumper. She seems to be around the age of our everyday underclassmen. Some say she was a girl that died here when the school was also a boardinghouse. Others say she was a student that never finished here cut off by her death so she still goes to school everyday. No one is quite sure what she is. But this  
writer has never seen her and surely doesn't believe in ghosts. Be  
forewarned upperclassmen, the Sisters don't appreciate you making up  
stories to scare the freshman and sophomores.  
  
"That's our girl!!" Declan yelled out in surprise. "Miranda, I have an idea," he said with a grin. 


End file.
